


Been A While

by GuerrillaWarfare



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: College AU, Emotional Growth, F/F, Modern AU, Romance, everyone is still a creature, first fic, no magic, well an attempt at romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 05:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21238991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuerrillaWarfare/pseuds/GuerrillaWarfare
Summary: Adora had a pattern - a rhythm, one would say - to her life.  Growing up under the intensive care of her foster turned adopted mother, she couldn't help but have one.  Everything she did was planned, from her workout routine, to her breaks at school, to her meals, to how she spent her down time.  All time used was productive.  She did not have friends, but that was no bother to her.  She did not see them helping her in any way and there was no way they could relate to her so she didn't try.  She did not mind, for she was on the track to success.That is, until someone who had left her life years ago suddenly shows up and throws everything off kilter.//This is the first time I'm writing in years, and it's my first try at anything even an ounce emotional.  I am not good with titles.  I've also never written romance before, either, so be warned!  Heading towards a happy ending, please bear with me.  I cannot stand all the heartbreak and so I'm trying to make as much feel-good as I can ;-;





	Been A While

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! As stated in the summary, I am both so incredibly rusty and super green! I work a full time job+ lots of OT so I can eat, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. Really depends on how busy my weekends are as I'll be unable to write during my work days.
> 
> I don't intend this series to be super long, as I have the bad tendency to just... forget to do things without meaning to, and the longer it extends the more likely I am to unwittingly abandon it. (On that sour note....) Please enjoy!!
> 
> (Unbetad) (Also, I do not know how to format on here? If any of the paragraph breaks look weird or if it seems like some paragraphs don't break, please, do tell.)

Opening her locker door at the gym was always so difficult for Adora. The handle was one of those that you have to lift upwards after you take your lock off and it was consistently stuck. Lifting the lock hurt Adora’s fingers because she would have to squeeze it pretty hard, but she always chose the same locker. If you asked her why, there was no reason behind it. If, however, you asked, say, one of her more outspoken classmates, it might be because she’s a stubborn perfectionist and can’t stand feeling like she lost by switching lockers. She knew that wasn’t true, though.

Adora entered the locker room, exactly one hour and ten minutes from when she arrived. She had a small towel, damp from sweat, over her left shoulder and a twenty-ounce water bottle drained to exactly five ounces in her right hand. She approached the third bench in the locker room and set her bottle down equidistant from each corner. She moved to the center locker in that area and unlocked it. She grabbed the handle and squeezed, jiggling it a few times at first to test if it was stuck today or not, then yanked it upwards. It took a little strength, but the handle jerked upward with a satisfying clank and Adora smiled. She very purposely grabbed her things in the reverse order in which she put them and turned to go, grabbing her water bottle on her way out.

As she exited the building, one hour and 15 minutes from entering, she breathed deeply in the cold air, letting it bite her skin and cool her off a bit, before pulling on the jacket and the stocking cap and gloves she kept in the pockets. The weather wasn’t cool enough for snow, but it was still uncomfortably chilly if you stood still so Adora quickly got moving down the sidewalk towards her first stop of the day: Brew-tiful, her local coffee shop. Her mornings always went like this: ten minute walk to the gym, one hour workout, ten minute walk in the opposite direction to Brew-tiful to get breakfast, then five minutes to campus. So would begin the rest of her day, which she planned during her morning walks.

Exactly on time, Adora entered the establishment and got in line. There were 5 people in front of her and counting herself, the two workers, and the other patrons, it came out to ten, which she took as a good sign for the rest of her day. She had an affinity for the number five, she believed, always trying to do everything in multiples of the number. She was convinced it gave her luck, and she had yet to be proven wrong. She ordered a simple blueberry muffin and a cup of warm milk and left for her classes, tipping the usual barista, who thanked her with his usual cheerful smile and excited eyes. She would be fooling herself if she didn’t think she kept coming back to this particular coffee shop because his demeanor prepped her for her day.

Adora’s classes were perfectly spaced so as to give her a brief break between each, allowing for any possible delays during her travel to and from. She would not waste time talking to any of her classmates more than she needed to and only rarely would she feel the need to stay behind and consult the teacher. Her mother always told her that if she couldn’t learn something, it was her own fault, after all. If she needed clarification, she would just study harder. During her lunch break she would make a phone call to her mother and report her day before buying a nutritionally balanced meal from the cafeteria and briefly reviewing the material from her first classes, planning what she would study that night.

After her classes, Adora would walk home, cook herself dinner, and eat while she watched whatever was on the local channels. When she lived in the foster home, she and the other kids were not allowed to watch television, so when she left and entered college, she bought an old television set online on the down low and greedily soaked up whatever she could watch. She did feel a little guilty about it, like she was betraying the other kids by defying their mother in this way, but she tried not to dwell on the feeling. She justified it by thinking to herself that she was an adult now and they could do just as she did whenever they left. God forbid her mother ever find out, though. She would deny everything.

After dinner and television, Adora sat down and studied. She went over the topics learned in her classes and read ahead a chapter or two. She at least started any homework she had been given, doing as much as she could without rushing or going over her allotted time. There was no way she was going to ever hand in rushed or subpar work or sacrifice her sleep for the next day so she wouldn’t be able to pay attention in class. After her study time was over, she briefly showered and got ready for bed. She set her alarm for six hours and fell asleep.

\-----

The next day Adora awoke five minutes before her alarm went off. She sat up with a feeling of calm, a feeling she hadn’t felt in a while. For some reason, she knew today was going to be good – or, or important. Something important was going to happen today. She smiled and stretched, popping her back and yawning. No matter how calm she felt, she was still sleepy. She wondered if she would ever get a good night’s rest.

Shaking that thought from her mind, Adora slid off her bed and padded into the bathroom. She quickly readied herself for the day, swapping the dirty clothes from her gym bag with new clothes, and noting that she might have to do laundry soon. She drank a quick protein shake and grabbed her keys, slipping on her running shoes before leaving her apartment and locking the door behind her. She smiled, humming to herself while she wondered what the day could possibly have in store for her.

The gym was as expected when she arrived, right on time. Nothing important had happened on the way there, but perhaps during or after her workout? She quickly made her way to the locker room and to the third bench, headed towards her usual center locker when she stopped short. There was a… familiar pink-haired, glittery… _person_ there, packing her stuff into _Adora’s_ locker.

“Glimmer.” She said, her voice flat. This could _not_ be the important thing that would happen today. “So… good to see you here.”

The pink glitter bomb turned around slowly, a singular eyebrow raised. She looked Adora up and down before responding, making Adora feel slightly self-conscious.

“Adora…!” She smiled tightly as she addressed her. Clearly not thrilled to see her, but trying to make nice. “What a… treat. I wasn’t aware you came to this gym.”

Adora shifted, looking pointedly at the locker as she spoke.

“Yeah, have been all semester, actually.” She rubbed her arm and looked back at Glimmer, hoping her discomfort wasn’t obvious. “Have-Have you been coming here? To the gym, I mean?”

Glimmer frowned slightly, but noticeably did not point out Adora’s fumbling, which relieved the blonde.

“Actually, I used to go to the gym on the other side of the campus, but that one has closed down for…” here, Glimmer shuddered, eyes closed, recalling something unsettling, “…rats.”

“Ah.” Adora did not know how to respond.

The two girls stood awkwardly, shuffling their feet and avoiding looking at each other, before Adora robotically moved to the locker next to Glimmer’s. She opened it, trying and failing to not glance at the locker she would normally take. This new locker opened easily, which should be a relief to Adora, but it did not sit right with her. It was too different. She liked her old locker. Everything was off, shifted to the left, and it put her off-balance.

Glimmer left the locker room first, which let Adora breathe easy. She was never comfortable around the shorter girl. They shared one class together and it was not a very… smooth ride. Glimmer came from a very wealthy family, being the daughter of the mayor, and always seemed to exist in a plane different from Adora. Add that to the fact that it seemed as if she was always trying to compete with Adora to answer their professor’s questions (who happened to be her aunt) which led to them getting into arguments during classes, which led to them not really getting along. Glimmer wasn’t really a bad person, Adora could tell, but she wasn’t really an… easy person. Very opinionated and unwilling to admit she was wrong.

Adora sighed, deciding not to let Glimmer’s appearance bother her. She would continue with her day, returning to her previously good mood, and that, as they say, would be that. At least, that was what she had hoped. The little stall she had in the locker room had put her timing off in the gym and now she felt rushed. She had to cut some of her workout short, which only put her more off kilter than she had been by Glimmer’s appearance. It didn’t help that she couldn’t stop glancing at Glimmer, as the sight of her in the gym was so odd. She really considered looking for another gym to start going to, but she had told the other girl that she had been going here all semester and so she would _know_ Adora was trying to avoid her if she switched. This made Adora groan in defeat as the alarm she had set on her watch in an attempt to get her morning back in control went off and she relaxed, dropping what weights she had been using and crouching on the ground, head between her knees.

Adora hadn’t finished her workout, but she could not afford to be late to the coffee shop as it began to get busy shortly after Adora would normally leave. If she was late to the coffee shop, then she was late to class, and she couldn’t be late to class, _no way_, her mom would _kill_ her. She hastily re-racked her weights and flew to the locker room, ignoring Glimmer’s short greeting as she struggled with the locker and dumping her stuff into her gym bag. She threw her coat on while she dashed outside and down the street.

She burst into Brew-tiful, panting, her bare fingers numb and tingly, and almost hitting someone as the line to the counter was almost to the door. This was odd. This was too many people. She hastily shut the door and shakily pulled on her gloves, sticking her hands under her armpits as she chattered at the back of the line, curiously peeking around the people in front of her to see what the problem was. The boy who usually mans the counter in the mornings was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear some clanking coming from the back. A couple people in front of her huffed and left in a hurry, so she got to move a bit closer to where she could hear voices. Again, odd. Usually, it’s just the cheerful boy, but those voices sounded strained, as if something was going wrong and someone was trying to stay calm.

Adora checked her watch. If she got her food within the next 8 minutes, she would be back on track for her day, but with the amount of people still in front of her and the fact that no one was showing up to the counter-  
As she had that last thought, the boy appeared.

“Sorry about the wait, everyone!” He said, his smile wide only in the way someone in a stressful situation could manage. “We’ve got a trainee in today, so please forgive us for our delays!”

Another person grumbled how he couldn’t wait that long and turned and brusquely left. The boy apologized again after him and begun ringing up the person at the front of the line.

Adora continued to look at her watch every few seconds, chewing her lip and weighing her options. If she stayed in line, she may end up being late and her mother would scold her when she did her daily check-in. If she left without getting something to eat at least, then she would be too hungry to pay attention in class and her mother would scold her. Either way seemed like a lose for her, but perhaps being a little late to one class wouldn’t be as bad as lacking attention in the rest. Then again, her mother absolutely _despised_ tardiness. Perhaps she could just power through and work off willpower alone. She glanced at her watch. Five minutes to get her food and drink and leave. A good number, she caught herself thinking.

“Bow, how long do I set the oven, again?”

As Adora was still looking at her watch, her ear caught the second voice. It was out of the back room now, behind the counter. It was devastatingly familiar and caused a thrill of fear to run down Adora’s spine. She swallowed thickly, her mouth dry. Her breathing quickened as she looked upwards, the world slowing.

Clear as day, there she was. After four years, someone she thought she would never see again was poking her head out from the back room, eyes trained on the boy behind the counter. Her thick, brown hair was braided behind her back and her fur was lightly dusted with flower. She was wearing the brown and yellow polo that came with the uniform of the coffee shop as well as the baseball cap, a matching apron, and thick blue gloves. Her blue and yellow heterochromatic eyes were not looking at Adora.  
Adora’s mouth fell open and her voice seemed to creak out of her.

“Catra?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again and thank you for reading to the end of chapter one!!!!!!!!!
> 
> If you've come this far, hopefully you have notes! I intend to use this series as a way to improve my writing skill, so please, please, please, if you have any thoughts on how I can improve, do share! By that I mean, stylistically, mostly. Do I write too dry? Too wet? Am I in the character's head too much? Would you rather be as left in the dark as the character, or would you like more dramatic irony? Would you like more jokes?? Do the emotions I'm trying to invoke land? Are my descriptions doing it for you? If not, what would you like to see?
> 
> Mostly we've only seen one personality, and that's Adora, but is there enough of her personality showing? She's meant to start out rather bland, coming near-fresh from You-Know-Who's grasp, but if I go too into detail in certain parts, that would be good to know! Of course, any typos/grammatical/punctuation errors, I am more than willing to receive your notice of if you find any, as this is only me working on this fic and I'm notorious for not re-reading it after I've "finished" it.
> 
> I think that's all. Find me on Twitter @RebekahDawn4 !! There is no orig content, just me yelling about Shera. >.<  
Thank you again for reading and do have a wonderful day!!!!!!


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